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Politics

Jailed Activist’s Nowruz Letter Calling On Iranians To “Reclaim Our Iran”

March 20, 2023
4 min read
In a letter written from the women's ward of Tehran's notorious Evin prison, Hedayat writes about the "irreplaceable losses" of the protests and expresses her admiration for the demonstrators
In a letter written from the women's ward of Tehran's notorious Evin prison, Hedayat writes about the "irreplaceable losses" of the protests and expresses her admiration for the demonstrators

Well-known human rights activist Bahareh Hedayat was arrested in early October 2022 during nationwide protests triggered by the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini.

She had been arrested and imprisoned several times before.

In a letter written from the women's ward of Tehran's notorious Evin prison ahead of Nowruz, the Persian New Year, Hedayat writes about the "irreplaceable losses" of the protests and expresses her admiration for the demonstrators.

“It is my hope that my eighth spring in captivity will contribute to the healing of the nation's wounds and its eventual salvation. I am prepared to spend my life in service of the nation's will without complaint or hesitation."

The following is the letter written by Bahareh Hedayat:

***

As I will spend my eighth Nowruz in prison, my faith in victory is stronger than ever.

As the new year approaches, I sit at a Haft-seen (ceremonial Nowruz table) and I reflect on the memories of this year, which has irreversibly passed.

My heart is filled with memories of [protest victims] Mahsa, Nika, Sarina, Siavash, Abolfazl and Hamidreza, and of my brothers Khodanour, Fereydoun Mahmoudi, Mohsen Shekari, Mehdi Karmi, Mohammad Hosseini, and Majidreza Rahnavard.

I also remember all the Iranians seeking a normal life who took to the streets but perished at the hands of the enemies of "woman, life, freedom.”

I hold my neck high, and I lift my head because I have had fellow citizens like these.

Nowruz is a reminder of our common destiny in a land where discrimination, oppression and lack of human dignity have left deep scars.

It is our duty to remember Iran from the perspective of these wounds. It is my hope that my eighth spring in captivity will contribute to the healing of the nation's wounds and its eventual salvation. I am prepared to spend my life in service of the nation's will without complaint or hesitation.

I am ready to dedicate my life to freedom and justice for Iran if it's my share of the world.

Prior to the Mahsa Movement, some believed that subversion was only an abstract idea without any material manifestation.

However, with the Mahsa Movement, this demand did not happen but instead found a tangible expression in an area that could not be ignored. Despite this, some still view subversion as hopeless due to deterministic analyses of political economy or international relations.

While such factors are real, they are only a "part of" reality and not always constant or aligned with the goals of the Islamic Republic. Our will is another part of reality that they overlook.

Our will represents our share of reality. Our will carries the truth of our time, even if it's only a small slice of reality. This slice of reality is where we belong, nowhere else.

The recent movement was also a manifestation of this will, drawing decisive lines and defining a future under the slogan "Woman, Life, Freedom."

This movement was so powerful that no political force could resist its demands for years. Women's rights, sanctity of life and freedom are foundational concepts for our future, and the movement embodied this life-giving spirit.

In spite of all the recent unrest, the situation remains the same: the Islamic Republic has become the most immoral element in Iranians’ daily lives.

Its survival is a denial of our survival, our children's survival, and our land. Therefore, the logic of overthrow is still in place. The goal of subversion is not to establish a new political identity for the sake of it or out of spite, but the legitimacy of subversion is derived from necessity.

It is important not to lose sight of the ultimate goal.

Waves of change come and go. Nine years ago, when the initial JCPOA agreement (the landmark nuclear deal with world powers) was concluded, many people, including myself from inside this prison, were disappointed by the silence in the streets, the repeated statements on human rights and the appeasement of the West toward the government.

We believed it was possible to reach a compromise with the government, which seemed to be accepted by the world, for the greater good. Many of us did not even consider it a compromise, but we were convinced that a point should be found outside of the centralized conflict with the government.

We tried to approach politics from this hypothetical point, for the sake of both morality and balance of power. However, this approach did not work. We thought that if they could agree with this government, we could also hypothetically agree and act accordingly. But this, too, failed. As with the initial agreement, all subsequent agreements fell apart.

It was a mistake to think we could pursue freedom directly or ignore its suspension and focus on another virtue instead. We were unaware of our inability to control the evil of this political choice and its consequences for people's lives.

It led to a disillusioned society that had failed both in its political project and in the moral standards of its political action.

Therefore, we should not lose sight of our goal. No matter what shortcuts we take to get freedom, it will inevitably lead to the Islamic Republic's destruction and the removal of political Islam from governance.

We should not be discouraged by the inevitable conflicts, disagreements and arguments, since they serve to clear the difficult path ahead of us.

What is important and in our hands is our determination to liberate and reclaim our Iran.

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